It is often necessary or desirable to hang various articles from supports for storage and convenient access. For example, IV bottles and bags often must be suspended from stands for gravitational feed of the contents of the bottles or bags. Similarly, consumers often wish to hang bottles of shampoo, soap, suspension oils and the like in their showers or elsewhere. A number of hanging devices for such purposes have been proposed, including self-adhesive labels including integral hangers. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,125 to Andel et al. Additionally, some hanger devices are mechanically secured to an article, such as in the container and retractable hanger system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,497 to Davis.
It is desirable to minimize the cost of any such hanger, particularly in the case of relatively low cost consumer products such as shampoos and the like. However, it is also desirable to provide a hanger which will reliably suspend the article. In the case of hangers consisting of an open hook, there is the risk that the hanger will become dislodged from a support through the open portion of the hook. While closed loop hangers may obviate this risk, they limit the choice of supports to those having a free end over which the hanger may be looped. Commonly, consumers have a number of items in their shower which they wish to hang, but only a few suitable supports for closed loop hangers. Notably, a support having a free end (e.g., a shower head) presents a risk that the hanger may fall off the support.